Tesco and French supermarket group Carrefour have announced an intention to lower prices across goods by forming a “long-term strategic alliance”.

Both retail giants will use the three-year partnership, which is to be formally agreed in the next two months, to increase their buying power with suppliers.

Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said: “I’m delighted to be entering into a strategic alliance with Carrefour.

“By working together and making the most of our collective product expertise and sourcing capability, we will be able to serve our customers even better, further improving choice, quality and value.”

This news comes as Tesco’s merger with Booker was given final clearance in March.

Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s has pledged to reduce prices across common household goods by 10% as a result of its proposed takeover of Asda, while Co-op has made similar promises to reduce prices by 20% following its merger with Nisa.